Dreamscape
by Kisara-Rini
Summary: Post Avengers. Loki, bored from his captivity, devises a new game for himself to pass the time. mentions of thorki and jane/thor (this is a work in progress, but i felt the need to post it as it is now...what with the recent Thor 2 hype)


Dreamscape

~O~

It had started as a way to amuse himself—bored as he was, in his captivity. They should have known by now that walls, or any form of containment really, could not imprison him. Muffled laughter, that only he could hear, reached his ears. _My stupid brother. You may hold my body, but you will never hold my mind: my true power._ Grinning to himself, the God of Mischief began to plot. _Thor. Which one of your little friends shall I pay a visit to tonight?_ He had started with the woman…_her_…but had quickly become un-amused. All her thoughts were either simple human equations, or plagued with images of…_him_…And those had become far too much for Loki to handle. Thor, stripped to the waist. Thor, pressed up against _her_. Thor, being pulled down on top of that woman.

No, Loki had soon seen too much of it for him to take any more. All those images had done for him, was fuel his ever growing hatred for his brother. And for his imprisonment. Loki was enraged…and oh so bored.

_Which one will it be?_ He smiled, manically, in anticipation of the thrill of his new game. Yesterday, he had moved on from Jane to his once enforced ally, Agent Barton. The one they called "Hawkeye" had been enjoyable enough. His dreams were already disturbed from nightmares. His eyes glowing, bow in hand, and bloodshed at his feet. Loki laughed and simply watched as Clint battled within himself, helplessly wishing for the freedom his waking hours imagined he already had.

And then, before he woke, _she_ appeared. _Humans, such sentimental creatures._ "Do you love her, Clint?" Loki had whispered in the grief-stricken agent's ear. To which he heard a strained and resolute response of: "Yes."

The wide smile on the trickster's face was wiped and replaced by a look of loathing. "You love her?" Loki's illusionary form appeared by the dream-Natasha's side and gripped her firmly in his arms, fingers digging into her skin with urgency. The vision of Natasha, helpless and unable to fight back—so unlike herself, _Stupid Clint_—screamed and fell to her knees. Loki laughed once more, kicked the woman on the floor of the dark room that Clint's mind had locked them inside of, and strolled over to the agent. "Your own mind betrays you. She would have defended herself! Or tried, I should say. And yet, there she is, shrieking and sniveling as pathetically as you are. I need not interfere with your own torment, as you do it so well yourself!" Loki grasped a handful of Clint's hair, forcing the now kneeling agent's head up. "And look here, I find that I do not even need to play with your dreams for my own purposes."

He released Clint with a force that knocked him to the floor, where the agent curled into a fetal position, shaking as his eyes fixed on an image of Natasha, bleeding, unmoving, and in a similar position several feet from him. "Thank you, Barton, for sharing your prison with me for a night." Loki withdrew from Clint's mind, laughing to himself as he awoke, in Asgard, to his own cell.

That had been the night before. This night, however, found Clint's mind to be wide awake, and far less fun to penetrate. "Perhaps your lover is asleep," Loki murmured to the agent, who was unable to hear him and busy with what looked to be paper work, of all things. "How dull." Loki hummed to himself as his thoughts shifted to find those of another prey's. _Let's find someone else, shall we?_

He cast his mind outwards, letting his vision become dark. _Natasha, where are you hiding? I have a web I'd like to catch you in._ Black instantly became white, and Loki looked around to find Natasha sitting cross-legged in a field of short sun-glazed grasses. She seemed to be in some form of meditative position; eyes closed and back straight, hands resting at her sides with thumb and index fingers pinched together.

"Interesting." Loki glanced away from her and upwards. What had first been blank white had now faded into a cool blue with wisps of clouds. "And how is it that you are so at peace, I wonder." He began to circle around her. "What lies beneath this façade?" His feet stopped their pacing inches from a knee, and he crouched down to stare at her expressionless face. "You can't fool me; I've seen what horrors lie within you. You may have pretended my words affected you not, but I am not fooled. I know I've gotten to you. Not as cold and uncrackable as you'd like to appear, are you?"

Her eyes snapped open, focusing on something right in front of her vision. Loki's eyes briefly darted in the direction, only to see there was nothing there. "Are you hearing me now?"

Natasha's eyes shifted, grazing Loki's form with her gaze, before she had sprung up and swiftly swung a leg at the side of his head. Taken aback, the blow made contact and Loki found himself face-first among the grasses, blood trailing from a lip where his teeth had bitten into it. But he was on his game again a split-second before she made contact with him again. "Oh, I don't think so, my dear." His form vanished and reappeared several feet behind her. "You forget; this is _my_ game." A scepter materialized in his hand and he sent a wave of energy at her, knocking her off her feet. Loki wiped the trickle of blood from his lips as he waited for her to spring back up on the balls of her feet. "It's merely an illusion, you see," he spoke to himself. "I bleed, yet it's only in my mind. I feel," he clenched his free hand into a fist, "but I'm not physically here to feel it. Wonderful, isn't it? What the mind can do. If only you can use it. I know you cannot really hurt me. I'm impervious to any pain. But you, you're mind makes you believe this is real." He swung the scepter at her as she advanced on him, and once more knocked her down, taking the wind out of her. Natasha coughed and clutched at her stomach. "You feel this pain. You allow yourself to feel it. And therefore, you can never beat me here. As if you would ever have a chance at that in reality. Perhaps if you could control this," he spread his arms wide, indicating the dreamscape. "But you would have to beat me at that as well. And let's be perfectly honest, dear Natasha, when it comes to the mind—I have no equal."

She let out a groan of frustration and launched herself at him, only to be shot down by Loki's magic. He laughed, taking pleasure in watching as she struggled on the ground at his feet. "You don't even realize I'm on your playing field. You could use your mind to try to stop me in any manner of ways, but you are unable to even grasp the nature of this fight. Not that you'd be able to wrestle your feeble human mind away from my clutches. But it would be fun to witness your attempt." Loki sighed, considering her with mock sympathy. "I'm in your mind. Why do you make this so easy for me?"

He sauntered over to where she was lying, unable to get up, and trapped her under a foot. "Yes, you've been far more entertaining than Jane was. I must thank you for playing with me—or, letting me play with you, I should say. I could have stumbled into your dreams and been bored by mere fantasies of yours—like that simpleton, Jane—but no. You provided far more entertainment. Now, I'll take my leave of you. Perhaps I'll come back and dig into your unconscious mind further another day. I'm not in a fighting mood, you see. I'll move on for now. But mark my words, I do look forward to coming back and cracking your psyche open. Farwell."

Loki vanished, leaving Natasha in the field to turn on her side and spit blood out of her mouth. Another figure crouched down by her side, extending a hand. "Just take it. You don't have to be strong all the time."

She pushed the hand away and struggled to her feet on her own. "Shut up, Hawkeye. I can get up myself."

Clint placed the hand, instead, on her shoulder. "Damn it, woman, why do you have to be so difficult?"

Natasha narrowed her eyes into a glare at the dream-Clint. "I prefer to not be weak, thank you very much."

"Why won't you let me love you?" the illusion of Agent Barton suddenly was saying.

"That would be taking the easy way out, Clint." She coughed again, brushed his hand off, and walked away from him.

…

Natasha awoke and rolled over onto her other side, staring at a dark wall for a moment before closing her eyes again. "Just a dream," she whispered to herself, before letting sleep take her once more.

~O~

Loki hadn't fixed on a particular mind to jump to, but as his thoughts were on the Avengers, he wasn't all too surprised when he found himself to be within the dream of yet another member of that team.

The location looked familiar enough. It was somewhere in New York, daytime, and there was a chill in the air. "I doubt you'll remember you felt cold during your dream, if you remember it at all," Loki said aloud to himself, before fixing his gaze on the figure of Bruce Banner.

The man was sitting at a bench with a table in front of him. There was a chess-set displayed and it looked as if he was in the middle of a game. Bruce was staring at the board, contemplating his options. His opponent, the giant green Hulk, was sitting across from him and was also staring at the board. Loki eyed the green one warily. "Yes, perhaps it's best we don't turn this into a fight." He hesitantly took a seat next to Bruce and glanced at the chess board. His eyebrows knitted as he looked at it, perplexed. "Hulk's winning?"

"I don't know how," Bruce frowned, "he's had me on the ropes. This is the second time he's put me in check."

Loki raised an eyebrow. "That's odd. Or, perhaps, it's not. This is your mind, so I suppose it could manifest a dream in which the Hulk is getting the best of you. How obvious." Loki snorted. "You're clearly feeling inferior, lacking, useless, in comparison to your…other half. Tragic. Also, boring." Loki sighed, rolling his eyes as he did so. His gaze caught on the board and he stared at it again. "You can still win."

Bruce nodded, "I know. But what then? What happens when I win? If I actually manage to do it…"

"Well, that's your problem, not mine." Loki raised his hands up and shrugged. "Are you going to make the move or not?"  
"I don't know," Bruce shook his head.

Loki stood up and gave the pair one final look. "How pathetic. Really." He reached a hand out, took one of Bruce's chess pieces, and moved it for him.

"Oh…I don't think you should have done that." Bruce looked over at Loki for the first time, his eyes slightly widened. "You're going to make him angry."

The words had barely left his mouth before a large fist was brought down onto the table top, smashing it to the ground and scattering the chess pieces. Bruce and Loki jumped back, away from the enraged Hulk. "Run," Bruce whispered, breathing heavily and clutching his chest.

"You don't have to tell me twice." Loki was just about to flee from Banner's mind, when he noticed someone appear at Bruce's side. "Now _that's_ interesting."

"Bruce, you get as far from here as you can. I'll try to buy you some time." Captain America was stepping between the Hulk and Bruce.

"Steve, you can't fight him. No one can fight him. He'll hurt you." Bruce pleaded, "Run with me. Get away from here."

Rogers shook his head. "I can't do that. This is my fault. You wouldn't-"

"It's not your fault. Please, just-"

Loki raised an eyebrow. "You think your problem is his fault?"

Bruce laughed nervously, "No, I didn't say that. I don't think that."

"No?" Loki's lips twitched into a mischievous smile. "I don't think you're being very honest with yourself."

The Hulk swung his arm out, knocking Steve back against Bruce. They both fell to the ground at Loki's feet. "Well, this is starting to look like too much fun for me. You two enjoy." He fled Bruce's mind right before the Hulk started in on the Captain and his other half again.

"Don't worry," Steve threw himself over Bruce to cover him from the Hulk's onslaught. He looked down, into Bruce's fearful eyes, "I'll protect you."

~O~

"I've never done this many in on night," Loki mused to himself. He was walking down a darkened hallway and pondering whose mind he had ended up in this time. All he had been thinking, in the split-second before exiting Banner's dream, was a mild desire to visit another's mind he that hadn't explored yet. "I should expect this to be someone associated with the Avengers, at the least. But who? Hello?"

Further down the hall, a door swung open. A trench-coated figure stepped out from behind it: Director Fury. His face was fixed with raised eyebrows. "Out," he pointed at Loki. "Get the fuck out of my dream."

"Oh," Loki tilted his head to the side. "What's this now?"

"You heard me. Get the fuck out of my mind, you little worm."

Loki grinned. "That's a new one. Let's explore this further."

Fury took quick steps towards him. "I don't think so. I prefer you with your mouth shut, and out of my sight." The S.H.I.E.L.D. director placed his hands on Loki's chest and gave him a forceful push.

And just like that, Loki was thrown from Fury's dream, his vision warping around him as he was ejected from the director's mind.

Stunned, Loki looked around at his new surroundings. "How…where am I?" _No one's ever driven me out before. How did he…_ "Oh, you have to be joking." His eyes had landed on an image of his brother and Jane, furiously taking their shirts off. "How did I manage to end up here…again?"

He watched, snarling slightly, as Jane's dream-version of Thor picked her up and wrapped his arms around her. Her legs encircling his waist, and her hands tangling into his hair. "Disgusting display," he spit out. Rage licked at his eyes as the dream-couple found themselves on Jane's bed. Loki was visibly shaking at the sight of Thor pressing himself against the woman. "She's not even special," he shouted at them, not caring that they weren't aware of his presence. It didn't seem to cross his mind that he could have left her dream and moved onto someone else's. No, he was fixated from the overwhelming emotions that began to well up inside of him by the sight of them.

"Why do you care for her, brother?" Loki stalked towards them. He stood by Jane's bedside and stared down at Thor's bare back. "She's nothing! She can't love you the way I-" He clamped a hand over his mouth, eyes widening and tears threatening to escape from them. _No_. Loki shook his head and turned his back on the illusion of his brother. _I'm not jealous of…her. I don't…want him like that. I've never wanted anyone like that._

Unbidden curiosity had Loki turning once more, peering over his shoulder at his brother and Jane—now both almost fully unclothed. His eyes swept over his brother's body, taking in the smooth skin and toned muscles, his heart beating more rapidly as he did so. And all too easily, he began to see himself in the place of Jane. What it would be like to have the strength of Thor pushing down against him. Loki let out a shaky breath and blinked the image out of his sight. Jane's Thor was taking things further now, but Loki wasn't really seeing the two that were in front of him.

No, all he saw was Thor. His brother. Beautiful golden hair, impossibly bright blue eyes, and sun kissed skin. Loki seemed to be unaware of himself, as his mouth dropped open, and his pulse quickened even more. Another shaky breath escaped his lips. "Thor," he whispered, "I hate you so much, brother." _Love you too damn much. Much more than she ever could._ "No," Loki winced and looked away from the illusion. "That can never be."

For a moment, he considered what it might be like if he grabbed the dream-version of Thor off of Jane and pressed himself against his brother. It might not be real, but his mind could make it feel real. Would it be worth it, though?

Loki quickly dismissed the idea. Jane's Thor probably wouldn't have taken kindly to that, and might have tried to attack him. And as it was her mind, Thor most likely had unlimited strength. The end result of that encounter did not seem to be in Loki's favor.

The sound of Jane's gasping caught Loki's ear. He found himself glancing over at them, sneering at their intimacy. "Keep wishing, mortal girl. Father won't be sending him to Earth for _you_ any time soon." _I need to get out of her head._

Still shaken somewhat, Loki—now pale and flushed at the same time—gave the pair a fleeting look before taking off.


End file.
